Taking cognisance of the death of a tusker due to gunshot injuries in Athagarh forest division, the Centre has asked the Odisha government to investigate and submit a report on tusker poaching.
After Dharmendra Pradhan’s tweet about an elephant being shot dead by poachers in the Athgarh forest division, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) asked Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Odisha to investigate and file a detailed report on it.
The skeletal remains of one more elephant were exhumed from Athagarh forest division in Cuttack district, while the forest officials were investigating the case of the recovery of skeletons of two elephants in the Badamba range.
The skeletal part, suspected to be of a male elephant, was detected from Chandragiri reserve forest under the Badamba range of Athagarh forest division.
Similarly, a sub-adult tusker succumbed to pallet wounds in the same Athgarh forest division on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, a team of the special task force of the Odisha crime branch exhumed skeletons of two jumbos from a place on the foothills of Chandragiri hills in the Gopinathpur section of the same forest range.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday took to Twitter and wrote that the death of a wounded tusker who was shot by poachers in Athagarh forest is distressing for all wildlife enthusiasts. This is not just a one-off incident in Odisha.
The dense forests and wildlife of Odisha are a unique identity of our state. Elephants are pillars of our ecosystem and have a special role in the environment & forest conservation. The growing number of elephant deaths in Odisha over the years is a matter of grave concern for everyone,” Pradhan said.
Pradhan also pointed to media reports that say around 947 elephants have died due to poaching, poisoning, electrocution and accidents in the last 12 years in Odisha.
To which Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav responded and promised strict action against the poachers behind the death of the elephant.
“Elephants are our heritage animal and have been given the highest protection under the WLP Act. The Ministry has taken cognisance of the incident and the matter has been taken up with the state government for strict action against the poachers to ensure protection of our wildlife heritage,” tweeted Yadav.
